Quantify good grooming.

[infidel]

Hello all,

Total noob here, so please bear with me.

I'm curious of the method used to tell if the corduroy being laid out at the rear of the cat is destined to be a great skiing surface or just merely "looks" nice. Do you, as an operator, get out of the cab once in a while to physically check what's being produced, or does your experience render that not neccesary?

Also, does the ideal firmness or density vary with the difficulty of the run (IE- softer greens and very firm black diamonds). Does it vary with which direction the run faces? As in, would a south facing run that is bound to receive a good dose of sunlight the next day be groomed differently than a north facing run?

I'm looking forward to running all these by the veteran groomers when we start up, but until then I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say.

Thank you, Jesse.

P.S.- We'll be running BR350's with Posiflex tillers, if that matters.

[infidel]

12 looks! No response

Impress this forum with a thoughtful reply, or dazzle us all with some witty BS!
Or.....just make something up. I won't know the difference

I have lots more questions, so don't leave me hangin'

Thanks!

[snowizard1]

Hello all,

Total noob here, so please bear with me.

I'm curious of the method used to tell if the corduroy being laid out at the rear of the cat is destined to be a great skiing surface or just merely "looks" nice. Do you, as an operator, get out of the cab once in a while to physically check what's being produced, or does your experience render that not neccesary?

Also, does the ideal firmness or density vary with the difficulty of the run (IE- softer greens and very firm black diamonds). Does it vary with which direction the run faces? As in, would a south facing run that is bound to receive a good dose of sunlight the next day be groomed differently than a north facing run?

I'm looking forward to running all these by the veteran groomers when we start up, but until then I'd love to hear what you folks here have to say.

Thank you, Jesse.

P.S.- We'll be running BR350's with Posiflex tillers, if that matters.

To reply to your comments you are off to a good start. Enjoy your work and do the best you can, snow conditions are all ways changing you just adapted and over come. Vet hear started grooming when i was 16 in 1975. Be more that glad to share any knowledge i have if needed.

[infidel]

Hey SnowWizard!

Thanks for the reply! I kinda thought I was all alone here....

I'm pretty excited to get up on the mountain (if the rain would stop) I've been studying the operator's manual, and we attended an orientation put on by Prinoth just the other day. I'm sure a lot of this will start to explain itself once I actually start doing the job, but it's great to have a place to be able to ask questions.

[cbender]

I apologize for not getting to your questions earlier. At Copper we have been in a rush to get things going so time for hanging out on the discussion board have been limited. Good grooming...hmmmm....I guess it all comes down to your perspective. If you are the area manager, good grooming means putting down "acceptable corduroy" in a cost efficient manner. Limit breakdowns, fuel consumption, labor hours, while getting few customer complaints and you are doing good grooming. From the customer perspective, most are satisfied if it looks good from the lift, and doesn't feel icy. Vail skiers are getting spoiled by being able to ski pretty much right behind the fleet as trails get groomed, but this is an isolated situation. The sage old operator's perspective looks not only at the varying snow and weather conditions, but also the intent for the surface. If the trail is to be raced on good grooming means hard as possible so that ruts will not form. A quality pass in regular grooming needs to be more than surface looks. The depth of cut with your blade and tiller allow you to mix the hard surface with the softer under layers to improve consistency of product and skiability. At Copper, we go one step further and as often as possible switch from tillers to the PB Super Bar (folding wing compactor) and brush passing to get a softer feel to the snow for the guest.

Anyways, welcome to the community and things should start cranking on the discussion board soon, I think...

[infidel]

Hey Curt!

Thanks for the reply! I guess "good" grooming depends on who you are.

We don't run any pull-behind implements, so I'll try to learn to get it all done with the tiller.

I appreciate your input on this. As with most things, there seems to be a LOT more to this than meets the eye!

Thanks,
Jesse.

[ward-o]

BLASTING THROUGH A FIELD OF 3' DEEP POWDER MOGULS, ON A 58 DEGREE SLOPE IN THE WINCH, ITS 2AM & 22 DEGREES F, A CRYSTAL CLEAR MORNING AFTER YESTERDAYS 37" DUMP , AC/DCS' THUNDERSTRUCK IS CRANKIN OUTTA THE SPEAKERS, CATS ENGINE IS JUST PURRING ALONG AND SEAMLESS ,MISTAKE PROOF CORD ,IS COMIN OUTTA THE TILLER LIKE A RIBBON OF DIAMONDS.& YOU JUST KNOW 1ST TRACKS &THOSE BIG GS TURNS, WILL CARVE LIKE BUTTER ;THAT MY FRIENDS IS "GOOD GROOMING" RIP IT UP

[summergroomer]

I find it best to step out of my cat in the morning and test the slopes first hand with a few early morning test runs. This will help in determing if your surface is smooth and ridge free. if you find heaving ridging between passes try overlapping a bit more and adjust your tiller and blade depth as needed

[PB400Fan]

I find it best to step out of my cat in the morning and test the slopes first hand with a few early morning test runs.

I agree... I love getting on the first chair in the morning and ripping up the corduroy from the night before on my snowboard.... gives you a completely different perspective compared to what you're seeing at night, under the lights.

[admin]

Agreed! Getting on the cord is the only way to really know how your product came out. As PB400Fan said: often what you see in the dark is not the same as what you see/feel in the morning!